Computing and electronic devices often include communication controllers to manage or implement various data communication functions. These communication controllers typically manage the communication of data at lower network layers, such as media layers where the data is structured and packetized for communication across a physical medium. To do so, most communication controllers include several memories that are each configured for a respective task to facilitate the communication of the data. For example, a communication controller may include dedicated or separate memories for receiving data, transmitting data, buffering data, encoding data, decoding data, and so on.
As communication data-rates increase, size requirements for these and other memories also increase to sustain data throughput and implement more-advanced functions for data processing. Die space and power budgets for communication controllers, however, often decrease with each iteration of controller design to reduce silicon costs and improve power efficiency. These iterative reductions in die space and power budget may limit silicon area and other resources of a communication controller that are typically required to support increases in memory size. As such, many communication controllers are implemented with memories that are insufficiently sized to maintain maximum data throughput, or with larger memories that require additional silicon area, consume more power, and increase cost of the communication controller.